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Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Which Would Be Surprising: Disney World Opening as Scheduled or Delayed?

by Ray Keating
News/Analysis
DisneyBizJournal.com
June 30, 2020

At this point, would you be more surprised if Walt Disney World opened on schedule or if it was further delayed? There’s a great deal of speculating on this, to say the least, and given recent developments, justifiably so.

Right now, Disney’s plans are to open the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on July 11, followed by Epcot and Hollywood Studios on July 15. For good measure, July 9 is the Annual Passholder Preview Day for the Magic Kingdom.


Across the country in California, Disney announced last week that it would not reopen its Disneyland Resort on July 17, as previously announced. No new date was supplied. Disney highlighted the fact that the State of California would not have its theme park reopening guidelines ready until after July 4, and that would leave Disney insufficient time to get their Donald Ducks in a row for reopening.

Keep in mind that as recent as June 25, the Orlando Sentinel reported that a Disney representative said the Florida parks would be reopening as scheduled. In addition, Disney has all the necessary governmental approvals for reopening in Florida. So, as far as we know, Walt Disney World will be open for business starting on July 11.

The current COVID-19 situation in Florida raises big questions, though. After all, the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state has been, unfortunately, dramatic over the past month. As the Sentinel noted today, there were 6,093 new coronavirus cases reported in Florida on Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 152,534. And 58 deaths brought the state’s death toll up to 3,505. (Data source for the following chart from the Orlando Sentinel.)
And consider the following, as reported on Monday: “From Sunday to Sunday, Florida saw 43,784 new reported cases of COVID-19, the highest amount in a one-week period since the pandemic began.”

The Washington Post noted: “Confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States surpassed 2.5 million on Sunday as a crushing new wave of infections continued to bear down throughout the country’s South and West. Across the nation, 40,587 new daily cases were reported. Florida, Texas and Arizona are emerging as the country’s latest epicenters after reporting record numbers of new infections for weeks in a row.”

A key problem in Florida is a chunk of individuals – largely younger people – ignoring the threat and proper safeguards. That has resulted in new restrictions on businesses, as the InsuranceJournal.com reported:

Earlier Friday, state officials said they would ban alcohol consumptions at bars as health officials attribute the new outbreak to young adults flocking to establishments after reopening three weeks ago, with many of them ignoring social distancing restrictions aimed at lowering the virus’s spread.
Bars, like restaurants, were supposed to limit patrons to 50% of their normal capacity, under the state’s emergency orders. Patrons had to sit at tables, with groups 6 feet (2 meters) apart. No congregating at the bar or on the dance floor was permitted.
The new order prohibits any establishment that makes more than 50% of its revenue from alcohol sales from serving alcohol for consumption on site. Bars are still permitted to sell alcohol in sealed containers for consumption offsite. Restaurants that primarily sell food can still serve alcohol to customers seated at tables.
Business and Professional Regulations Secretary Halsey Beshears said he issued the order because too many bars and patrons were breaking the rules, overwhelming his department’s inspectors.
“This was more than we could keep up with,” Beshears said.

Beshears added, “People in general just wanted to get out and experience a normalcy... Sadly, 90% are getting it right. It’s the other 10% that are ruining it for everybody.”

Also, among the counties in Florida closing beaches for the July 4 weekend are Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Martin. However, most counties will have their beaches open for the holiday weekend.

Then there’s the economy. Consumer reactions to both the increases in coronavirus cases in Florida, as well as the grim state of the economy (such as record levels of unemployment, threats of more layoffs coming, and widespread uncertainty and insecurity) promises to cut deeply into those journeying to Disney World. It’s hard to fork over significant dollars to have fun with Mickey when wondering if the next paycheck is coming, or there is no paycheck.

Having said all of this, Disney needs staff on hand for the arrival of the NBA and Major League Soccer. The MLS already has begun to arrive, with the soccer tournament running from July 8 to August 11. And NBA teams are scheduled to arrive between July 7-11, with the rest of the season tipping off on July 30. There also are plans to provide entertainment to the players and their families.

At the same time, though, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged in an interview today that he couldn’t guarantee the restart or completion of the NBA season, given the unpredictability of the coronavirus.

ESPN reported on June 29: “Overall, 668 players have been tested since the start of full-team training on June 4. That translates to a positive test rate of 2.7%, which compares favorably to the 5.3% positive rate that the NBA recorded for its most recent round of testing of players.”

It also was noted: 

According to the Florida Department of Health, Orange County has had at least a 15.9% positive test rate over the past five days for which data was announced, with a total of 4,128 new positive case recorded in that time. Orange County is home to much of Walt Disney World Resort, including the Swan and Dolphin hotels, where teams and MLS staff are staying.

In neighboring Osceola County, where the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is located, cases and positive test rates also have been increasing. Over the past five days, a total of 687 new positive cases have been recorded, with the positive test rate ranging from 9.3% to 22.7%.

So, moving pieces galore make Disney’s decision-making difficult, and from the outside, hard to predict. At this point, I throw my hands up in the air, and wouldn’t be surprised whichever way Disney goes – opening Disney World as scheduled or pushing it off.

While COVID-19 might have other things in mind, Disney at least for now looks set on reopening. Of course, the company can and will limit attendance, and work to make Disney World even more of a bubble than it usually is.
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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solution (now available at a deep discount) and the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Get the paperback or Kindle edition of Ray Keating’s new book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York.


Monday, June 29, 2020

Disney World Opening Advanced Dining Reservations for Previously Cancelled Guests

by Beth Keating
News
DisneyBizJournal.com
June 29, 2020

If you were among the Walt Disney World guests with prior Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) for your Disney World vacation, who suddenly found yourself facing cancelled meals when Disney wiped the slates clean to make way for the new Park Reservation system, you might want to check your email.

Guests who had an active dining reservation on or before September 2, 2020, that was cancelled as of May 28 due to Disney World’s closure, can begin making new dining reservations beginning on June 30, up to 60 days in advance of your arrival. Online reservations for all guests will reopen at a later date.
  

In a letter on Monday to those guests, Disney wrote, “Since you had a dining reservation that was previously cancelled, as we promised in earlier communications, we are offering you the opportunity to make a new reservation beginning on June 30, before reservations open to other Guests on DisneyWorld.com. You can make reservations for select Walt Disney World dining locations or experiences up to 60 days in advance of your arrival.”

Guests falling into this category have been directed to Walt Disney World’s dining page for information on the availability of reservations at Resort hotels, theme parks and Disney Springs dining locations. 

You will need a confirmed dining reservation (plus valid park admission and a reservation for park entry) in order to dine at table service restaurants inside the theme parks. Guests should also be aware that dining reservations do not guarantee admission to the park.

Disney has also established a Know Before You Go page to help guests with rapidly changing policies and procedures, as well as up-to-the minute requirements for masks, social distancing, contact-less payments, and QR codes.  It is also recommended that you have the My Disney Experience app on your mobile device, with location services enabled to make your dining process go more smoothly.

Guests who had reservations for a Disney experience on or before September 2, 2020, that was cancelled can also make new experience reservations beginning on June 30 (up to 60 days in advance of your arrival). Details on experiences may be found here.   Guests can check availability for the following experiences:

Magic Kingdom Park:

Disney’s Hollywood Studios:

Walt Disney World Resort Hotels:

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See related...





Making Reservations for Entry Into the Parks: Our Experience”

 


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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.


Saturday, June 27, 2020

Cancellations at Disney Continue; Mulan Opening Pushed Back

by Beth Keating
News
DisneyBizJournal.com
June 27, 2020

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise across parts of the United States, including, most notably, Florida, Disney is facing a wave of additional cancellations and changes. That includes another rescheduling for the release of Mulan.


The biggest hit is the delayed reopening of its Disneyland California parks, announced earlier this week after the news that state officials would not be releasing theme park reopening guidelines until after July 4th. That assured that Disneyland would not have the necessary timeframe to be up and running for their originally proposed July 17 reopening.

And despite the fact that some Disney Springs venues only opened in the last few days, they are already shutting their doors under an emergency order yesterday from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. In a ban on alcohol consumption at bars, the Florida Department announced, “Effective immediately, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is suspending on premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide.” The ruling stated that any business that derives “more than 50 percent of gross revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages” must close. It appears that, at this point, the larger restaurants at Disney Springs may continue operating and serving drinks with meals, but small venues, such as Jock Lindsey’s Hanger Bar and Dockside Margaritas, are closed. No end date to the order was given.

On Friday, Disney Vacation Club cancelled their planned Moonlight Magic events for July and August at Typhoon Lagoon Water Park at Disney World.

Disney also extended cancellations of its cruise lines. According to their release, “Disney Cruise Line is cancelling Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy sailings through September 15, 2020. Disney Cruise Line has already suspended Disney Wonder sailings through September 14, 2020 and Disney Magic sailings through October 2, 2020.” Disney Cruise Line/Adventures by Disney has also extended the suspension of departures from Europe through October 2, 2020, and departures from Canada through September 14, 2020. Adventures by Disney has made the decision to suspend departures of its tours through Tuesday, September 15, 2020. 

The United States isn’t the only locale struggling with travel related issues. Yahoo! Finance announced that The TUI travel agency, one of Europe’s largest tourism companies, will be canceling all U.K. vacations to Florida until December.

D23: The Official Disney Fan Club announced that they are postponing their Destination D: Fantastic Worlds event. “Due to the global impact of the COVID-19 virus and protocols necessary to ensure social distancing, we have made the difficult decision to postpone this year's Destination D event until 2021,” reports the D23 website.  “We plan to announce a new date for Destination D later this year and will continue to host exclusive virtual events throughout 2020.” The three day event, scheduled for November 20-22, was due to happen at Disney World in Florida.

And finally, on a potentially brighter note, the live-action version of Mulan has been rescheduled for August 21st. (Rescheduling is better than cancelling, right?) Originally scheduled for a March 27 release date, then bumped to July 24th, COVID-19 cancellations brought down the curtain in most U.S. theaters, which have yet to open. Additionally, movie theaters in China, one of the markets expected to see the biggest ticket sales for Mulan, have remained closed. 

In Friday’s Variety, Walt Disney Studios' co-chairmen Alan Horn and Alan Bergen offered, “While the pandemic has changed our release plans for 'Mulan' and we will continue to be flexible as conditions require, it has not changed our belief in the power of this film and its message of hope and perseverance. Director Niki Caro and our cast and crew have created a beautiful, epic, and moving film that is everything the cinematic experience should be, and that's where we believe it belongs -- on the world stage and the big screen for audiences around the globe to enjoy together.” 


Reading between the thinly veiled lines, it seems as if August 21st might end up as only the most recently scheduled release date for Mulan. Expect more date changes as COVID-19 continues to throw a curve ball at reopening plans. At least Mulan, it appears, will not go the route of Artemis Fowl, with its release directly to Disney+, and will instead head to theaters – whenever that might turn out to be. 

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See related...




Making Reservations for Entry Into the Parks: Our Experience”

 




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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Additional Disney Parks Set to Reopen; Paris and Tokyo Announce Return Dates

by Beth Keating
News
DisneyBizJournal.com
June 25, 2020

We already know that Disney’s parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong are open. Vero Beach and Hilton Head are saying “Welcome Home” to guests. Disney World is set to reopen Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on July 11 and Epcot and Hollywood Studios on July 15. And Disney Springs is already serving up burgers and Dole Whips.

We reported yesterday that, unfortunately, the reopening of Disneyland California has been pushed back to a yet-to-be-determined date (it was supposed to reopen on July 17), though the Downtown Disney District will be opening on July 9.

Now comes news that Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea will reopen July 1 (having been closed since February 28). Tickets for Tokyo Disney Resort will go on sale June 25.


Disneyland Paris has also announced that it will be re-opening its parks on July 15, with a phased reopening of its Disneyland Park, Walt Disney Studios Park, Disney’s Newport Bay Club Hotel, and Disney Village. Disneyland Paris has been closed since March 12. Paris will also use a new online park reservation system similar to the one in use at Disney World this week. The Paris reservation system will go live in early July.

Each of the parks will be adhering to reduced attendance strategies, as well as requirements for social distancing and health regulations in place for each of their governing agencies.

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See related...



Making Reservations for Entry Into the Parks: Our Experience”

 




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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Disneyland Reopening Delayed Beyond July 17

by Ray Keating
News
DisneyBizJournal.com
June 24, 2020

The Walt Disney Company announced this evening that its Disneyland Resort in California will not reopen on July 17, as previously planned. A new date was not announced.

Source: Disney Parks Blog

In a statement, Disney said, “The State of California has now indicated that it will not issue theme park reopening guidelines until sometime after July 4. Given the time required for us to bring thousands of cast members back to work and restart our business, we have no choice but to delay the reopening of our theme parks and resort hotels until we receive approval from government officials. Once we have a clearer understanding of when guidelines will be released, we expect to be able to communicate a reopening date.”

However, the Downtown Disney District will reopen on July 9, again, as previously announced.

Disney also noted the need to have agreements in place with employee labor unions. It was pointed out that Disney had had “positive discussions and are very pleased to have signed agreements from 20 union affiliates, including the Master Services Council, which represents more than 11,000 of our cast members.”

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solution (now available at a deep discount) and the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Get the paperback or Kindle edition of Ray Keating’s new book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York.

Disney Releases List of Dining Locations Available When Florida Parks Reopen

by Beth Keating
News
DisneyBizJournal.com
June 24, 2020

We are just two and a half weeks away from the opening of Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom on July 11, and Epcot and Hollywood Studios on July 15. Many Disney Springs restaurants, as well as a number of Resort restaurants, are already open, with guests beginning to arrive at select Resorts on June 22.


In order to dine at one of the sit-down (table service) restaurants in the parks, you’ll need a confirmed dining reservation, as well as a valid park admission and a reservation for park entry.

Here are a few specific points from Disney that you also need to be aware of: 

• Menu items may vary.  For specific menu information, check the restaurant’s online menu when the restaurant reopens.
• Character Dining will not be offered during the initial reopening, with the exception of a modified Character Dining experience at Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera.
• Dinner shows will not be offered during the initial reopening.
• Dining locations will be limited in capacity. Some locations will remain temporarily closed.
• Mobile order service will be offered at select quick-service dining locations throughout the Walt Disney World theme parks (when open), Disney Springs and select Disney Resort hotels.
• Guests should also be aware that you’ll need face coverings for each Guest age 2 and up, which must be worn in all public areas—including while entering and exiting dining locations—and can be removed while eating or drinking.
• Reduced-Contact Menus: Menus will be shared in ways to minimize contact. At quick-service restaurants, menus will be displayed on signage. And at table-service restaurants, you can scan a code with your mobile device to access the digital menu.
• Self-Serve Changes: Beverages and other items that were previously self-serve will instead be served by Cast Members.
• Cashless Payments: At this time, it is recommended all Guests use cashless payment options, including debit cards, credit cards and Disney Gift Cards. Guests can also opt for contactless payment options—such as mobile wallets—or use cash to purchase a Disney Gift Card at Guest Relations and select merchandise locations. Disney Resort hotel Guests can also use MagicBands to charge their purchase to their Disney Resort hotel folio.

When the theme parks initially reopen, the following dining locations will reopen. According to Disney, additional carts and kiosks may also be available during your visit.

Magic Kingdom Park — Reopening July 11


Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park — Reopening July 11



Disney’s Hollywood Studios — Reopening July 15


EPCOT — Reopening July 15


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See related...


Making Reservations for Entry Into the Parks: Our Experience”

 




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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.